The Gustloff Catastrophe

by Karin Manion

I wanted to do the introduction to this film because I consider myself a 'survivor' of sorts.

Perhaps I should start by telling you something about the ship itself.  The Gustloff was a luxury passenger ship, which was launched as a Kdf Flagship in 1937 (which literally translates as "Strength through Joy").  This was a Nazi Party program designed to pioneer low-cost sea cruises for working-class people, similar to the advent of the Volkswagon, a car that was within the price range of the average German worker -- so this was a very reasonably priced pleasure trip for German workers.  Up until that time, ocean-going travel had been the preserve of the wealthy across the civilized world.  The ship was named Wilhelm Gustloff, after the leader of the Swiss Nazi party who had been assassinated by a Jewish student named David Frankfurter; in fact, he had been shot five times in the head and chest.  The ship was requisitioned into the German Navy in September 1939 at which time it served as a hospital ship to 1940.  As of November 20, 1940 it was stripped of its medical equipment and repainted from its hospital colors to standard naval gray.  It was then assigned as a floating barracks for navy personnel at the Baltic port of Gdynia (German Gotenhafen) near Gdansk (Danzig).  The ship had its final voyage during 'Operation Hannibal' on January 30, 1945, when it was sunk while participating in the evacuation of civilians and personnel who were surrounded by the Red Army in East Prussia.

This is where I would like to talk a bit about my own personal experience.  As the Russian Army advanced into East Germany (East Prussia) and the first civilian atrocities perpetrated by the Russian Army became known, my family -- my mother, grandmother, a foster child and myself, started on a voyage of horror.  My father had been conscripted into the German Army, thus we were on our own.  We started to flee in the fall of 1944 from Tilsit in East Prussia at first on foot. Occasionally we managed to pick up a ride with someone who had a horse and buggy.  Needless to say, we had very little luggage.  One cannot carry much while traveling on foot and most of what little we could carry was lost along the way, for it became heavy and unimportant.  All we could think about was staying alive.

I remember very little about this trip for I was just a little girl, not yet 5 years of age.  What I do remember very vividly was our flight across the Frische Haff (a Baltic inlet).  The streets were clogged with military personnel and the Russian tankers mowed down everyone in their way.  Thus our only choice was to take the route along the frozen inlet.  There were thousands of refugees just like us who had the same idea and wished to just go west, away from the advancing enemy.  By this time we were fortunate enough to be allowed on someone's horse and buggy; thus we travelled within a throng of thousands of refugees, hoping all the while that the temperature would remain cold so that the ice would remain frozen.

Then the unthinkable happened!  Russian aeroplanes began strafing us and shooting the frightened refugees which were already fleeing for their lives.  I could see how the buggies behind us and beside us were sinking into the ice and people were drowning.  I will never forget the screams I heard.  I had never been so scared before.  The foster child my Grandma had brought along, a young boy of about ten, kept saying "Grandma, pray, Grandma pray!" The good Lord must have heard our prayers, for we did arrive safely on some shore further on.

Eventually we made it to the harbour city of Gdynia.  By this time the German Navy had recruited all floating stock to be used for the safe evacuation of the eastern front refugees.  My mother was in the advanced stages of pregnancy and had managed to obtain tickets for the Wilhelm Gustloff.  We actually got onto the ship, only to be told that they would not allow my grandmother aboard (I never did find out why).  My grandmother exclaimed "Please, you and the children go. I will find another way."  Mom replied to her, "Mother, we have been fleeing together for the last 4 months; we will not separate now".  She then turned around and gave away our tickets and we walked off the ship.

Well, we know about the fate of the Gustloff.  The ship was designed to comfortably carry 1,880 passengers and crew but they crammed it full to capacity.  In fact, even the swimming pool had been drained and filled with passengers.  The Gustloff finally left port just after midday on the 30th of January, 1945 with 10,582 people on board.  At 9:16 p.m. she was struck by three torpedoes fired from a Russian submarine.  62 minutes later she sank into the Baltic where the water temperature was just 3 degrees Celsius and the air temperature was considerably lower. A few managed to make their way through the chaos to lifeboats and were picked up by an escort vessel, but over 9,000 perished in the worst naval disaster in history.

It is only now, more than 60 years after the end of hostilities, that this is talked about.  Until recently it was the best kept secret in the annals of warfare, a veritable conspiracy of silence.  The largest disaster at sea had until then had been the sinking of the Titanic.  In fact numerous movies were made about this peacetime disaster.

Alexander Marinesko was the Russian captain of the submarine.  Just as Britain had erected a statue in honor of Bomber Harris for bombing the German civilian population to smithereens, so the Soviet Union gave him the 'Hero of the Soviet Union' award posthumously in 1990 for this act of depravity.  Someone interviewed Marinesko before he died and posed the question to him -- in retrospect, now that it is known that the Gustloff was a refugee ship which carried mostly women and children, did he have any regrets for his action then?  He claimed he did not, for the Germans would have done the same to them if they had a chance.

Was this a war crime?  Well, watch the movie and judge for yourself.

Karin commented after the meeting: The event was well attended and people were visibly moved.  A discussion ensued at the end.  People mostly wondered why this had been kept such a secret for so long.  They also expressed outrage that Captain Marinesko had been given such an award for the crime of deliberatly concentrating and killing civilians.  In fact someone suggested that we have a candlelight procession in front of the Russian embassy on January 30th, 2010 to memorialize this war crime and honour the deceased women and children of this disaster.